Pacquiao-Clottey, and Pacquiao-Morales IV Pacquiao should be ashamed of sparring a 0-6 fighter

January 29th, 2010 | by Quentin Reed

“Don’t listen to their words, fix your attention on their deeds.” —Albert Einstein

So I wake up this morning on this beautiful sunny day in Southern California doing my normal daily routine. A routine that consisted of me signing online checking the OfficialScoreCard web site, my GMail, Twitter, & Face Book accounts just like any other day. Then after I checked those sites I went to BoxingScene.com and to my surprise I see a headline entitled “Manny Pacquiao Gives His Sparring Partner a Beating”.

I was anxious to read the article because I wanted to hear exaclty what kind of damage it was that Manny inflicted on this “sparring partner”. Apparently “Pacquiao dished out a beating to Brooks” claimed Freddie Roach and on the surface it appeared as if Manny Pacquiao had just destroyed a top prospect or legitimate contender. But waiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttt a minute boys & girls, if you actually look through the “SMOKE SCREENS” blown out by Team Pacquiao, you will see that Bryan Brooks is no more than an 0-6-1 fighter who has been knocked out twice in his minimal career by 2 fighters who were fighting in their pro debuts.

On top of all that, Brooks hasn’t fought in 5 years. His last fight was in 2005 in which he fought to a draw.

Wait it gets better, Brooks was born in September of 1970. Now I am no Calculus Major, but if my math serves me correctly, Brooks should be 39 years of age quickly approaching the tender age of 40.

Why would Freddie Roach release statements to the media about Manny beating up a sparring partner of this caliber? Is this really news?

Are we supposed to bow down and praise Manny Pacquiao for beating up a guy in sparring with a record of 0-6-1 and hasn’t been in a proffesional fight in 5 years. Also, Brooks has never been in a proffesional fight longer than 4 rounds.

Is Team Pacquiao THAT desperate to get attention to the Pacquiao-Clottey fight that they have to make Pacquiao’s sparring sessions seem larger than life?

Maybe Top Rank & the rest of Team Pac are realizing the fight everyone is now interested in is the Mayweather-Mosley fight and they are grasping at straws trying to get any attention they possibly can?

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WBC NAMES PACQUIAO 'BOXER OF THE YEAR'

By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 30 Jan 2010



The World Boxing Council has named pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao as "The Boxer of the Year" following his devastating victories over Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton and WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto last year.

The WBC saluted Pacquiao who has set a record of winning seven world titles in seven different weight divisions and as the First Diamond World Champion of the pre-eminent boxing organization and holder of the very first and historic Diamond green and gold belt.

WBC president Don Jose Sulaiman made the announcement based on voting by the World Boxing Council, Mexican journalists and fans through the WBC website. Sulaiman said the awardees would be hnored in a special gala ceremony in February although no date has been set as yet.

Named "World Champion of the Year" is the king of the heavyweights, Vitali Klitschko, of Ukraine, with a total of three defenses which was more than the usual number of title dvefenses by a heavyweight within within such period of time.

Klitschko knocked out Juan Carlos Gomez and Chris Arreola in March and September, respectively, and also defeated Kevin Johnson in a very clear decision.

Undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr won the award for the "Comeback of the Year". Mayweather returned almost two years after he announced his retirement and scored a lopsided unanimous decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas.

Mayweather has won five championships as well as five green and gold belts in five different WBC divisions, having faced rivals of the highest level of recognition in the world.

Voted the "Revelation of the Year" was Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, of Mexico, with a record of 30 wins, 22 of them by knockout and a draw.

With seven wins in the year “Canelo” has already become an idol of Mexican fans.

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Pacquiao hurts sparring mate

by Joseph Pimentel, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau | 01/29/2010 6:23 PM





LOS ANGELES, California -- Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao concluded his first day of sparring on Thursday (Friday in Manila) by dominating journeyman boxer Bryan Brooks in four rounds.

“I feel good. I’m very well conditioned. My opponent was big. I did well against him. I’m happy and my coach is happy,” said Pacquiao.

Roach said Pacquiao followed the game plan well during the four-round sparring session. He also said Brooks was hurt a few times while sparring with the pound-for-pound king.

“[Pacquiao] did really well. He’s already following the game plan. This was a good sparring partner for Shane Mosley but I don’t think I’m going to bring him back… he got hurt a few times. Manny was too much for him,” he said.

He added: "Yes, he did whatever he wanted too. He was playing with him a little bit. He likes to play with his audience a little bit … overall, it was a great day."

Pacquiao will be facing Joshua Clottey at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas on March 13.

The 7-time world champion is heavily favored to win the bout but Roach is not taking any precautions. He did not allow any media members to film the sparring session or mitt work.

Pacquiao also believes they have their work cut out for them. He said Clottey is a tough, durable opponent. In 39 fights, the boxer from Ghana has never been knocked out.

“Clottey is strong and sturdy. He can take a punch and has a good defense. This is not going to be an easy fight,” said the Filipino.

Roach said that the key to beat Clottey is Pacquiao’s quickness

“Don’t stand in front of him. Use lateral movement, in-and-outs and side-to-side pretty much because he’s a big strong guy but again boxing ability is going to win this, not size,” said Roach.

If Thursday’s sparring session was an indicator of how the fight will be against Clottey, then Clottey has his work cut out for him.
as of 01/30/2010 12:11 AM

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10 questions going into the Pacquiao-Clottey fight

Posted Jan. 27, 2010 at 01:27am
By Michael Rosenthal
Buzz up!
1. Is Clottey a worthy opponent? Short answer: yes. Pacquiao is THE RING’s No. 1-rated welterweight; Clottey is No. 5. That’s a good matchup. The Ghanian is coming off a loss to Miguel Cotto, one of the most-respected fighters in the world, but some believe he did enough to win a close decision. Clottey has never been knocked out and has good defensive skills, which means he’ll probably survive at least until the late rounds. That said, it’s difficult to get excited about Clottey’s chances or the fighter himself. He’s merely a very good boxer with pretty good power, which won’t be enough to stave off a fierce, quick-handed marvel like Pacquiao. The Filipino is roughly a 4-1 favorite for a reason. And Pacquiao went from Floyd Mayweather Jr. to a relative unknown for his opponent. A drop off that enormous will limit the buzz surrounding the fight.

2. Can Pacquiao hurt Clottey? Pacquiao has faced two welterweights. One, Oscar De La Hoya, could barely fight back. The other, Cotto, doesn’t have the best chin in the world. Clottey is different. The reason he has never been knocked out is he can take a punch. He has proved that over and over again. Thus, there is a very real possibility that the Clottey will remain standing for the full 12 rounds. I don’t see that happening, though. I believe Pacquiao has legitimate welterweight power. Plus, Clottey has never seen this kind of hand speed or punches coming from so many unpredictable directions. The punches that hurt opponents most are the ones they don’t see coming. Pacquiao might not take Clottey out with one punch but an accumulation of them should do the job. If not? Doesn’t matter. Pacquiao will just outbox his inferior foe.

3. Are Pacquiao’s last four victories misleading because of the opposition? Pacquiao supporters will roll their eyes when they read this but it’s a legitimate question. Diaz is good but limited; De La Hoya had nothing left; Hatton was overrated and some will argue that Cotto never fully recovered from the beating he took from Margarito. So what does that say about Pacquiao? Not much. As his trainer, Freddie Roach, has pointed out, we thought these opponents were all pretty good going into their meetings with Pacquiao. It was afterward, for the most part, that we began to question to them. Clottey might actually be the most-difficult to criticize even after the fact because he has had a fine career and has shown no signs of decline. Still, some will find serious fault with him and anyone else Pacquiao fights short of Mayweather or Mosley. The bottom line is that he’s destroying whomever they put in front of him. Let’s enjoy it.

4. Has Pacquiao’s reputation taken a hit after the failed negotiations with Mayweather? I don’t think so. Most fans seemed to blame Mayweather for the impasse, insisting that he was out of line to make blood-testing demands outside normal protocol even though Pacquiao has never failed a drug test. I also don’t think many people believe he has taken performance-enhancing drugs. Most adhere to the innocent-until-proven-guilty philosophy, which is the only fair approach to take. Undoubtedly, a small percentage feel strongly that he should’ve taken the blood test two weeks before the fight if he had nothing to hide. And a smaller percentage, those convinced he couldn’t have such success at heavier weights without some help, will accuse Pacquiao of wrong doing. That’s a very small group, though. He is relatively unscathed.

5. Will Pacquiao suffer a letdown after his epic showdown with Mayweather fell through? Not a chance. Pacquiao is the most-focused, most-professional boxer I’ve ever seen in spite of myriad distractions. In part, that’s just how he is. He is so committed that he left his homeland and traveled halfway around the world seeking a good trainer simply because he wanted to tap into what he knew was vast potential. The fact he has the hopes and dreams of an entire nation on his shoulders also is an immensely powerful motivating factor. He knows too much is riding on every fight to let down. And even if he were to slip up, Roach would be there to give him a good kick in the behind. Pacquiao will be as ready as ever on March 13.

6. Could Pacquiao’s demanding schedule the past few years catch up to him? Pacquiao, 31, hasn’t had a particularly hard fight since the rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez in March of 2008. He cruised past David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto, although the first few rounds against Cotto were brutal. However, Pacquiao, one of the hardest workers in the world, has been training diligently to perfect his craft for 15 years without a significant break. That includes countless sparring sessions in which he has absorbed considerable punishment. Also, no one has a more hectic and demanding personal schedule than the Filipino idol. It’s not farfetched to wonder whether all of the above will take a toll on him at some point.

7. How many people will attend the fight at the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas? An estimated 20,000 tickets were sold the first day they were available. That’s probably a tribute to Pacquiao’s growing popularity in the U.S., a large number of boxing-friendly Latinos in the Dallas area, a strong sports culture in Texas and the novelty of the first boxing card there. The stadium reportedly will be configured for 45,000 seats. I doubt that many people will buy tickets but I won’t be surprised to see a large crowd. I suspect the atmosphere will be festive but those in attendance shouldn’t necessarily expect electricity. I attended the Wladimir Klitschko-Ruslan Chagaev fight at a packed 60,000-seat soccer stadium in Germany and the energy dwindled to nothing when it became clear that Klitschko was going to win easily. Then again, the 126,000-seat Estadio Azteca in Mexico City rocked throughout the Julio Cesar Chavez-Greg Haugen fight.

8. How many pay-per-view buys will the fight generate? Pacquiao-Mayweather, featuring the two biggest pay-per-view draws in the U.S., might’ve smashed records by generating a record 3 million-plus buys. Pacquiao-Clottey? I think 800,000-900,000 –- or just shy of the 1 million Pacquiao-Cotto drew -- is realistic. Clottey isn’t nearly the attraction Cotto is in part because he doesn’t have a Latino fan base in the U.S. However, the fascination with Pacquiao is still growing and the unusual venue -– Cowboys Stadium -– adds to the appeal of the event. Plus, Antonio Margarito’s return from suspension would give the show a significant bump if he receives a license in Texas.

9. What if Pacquiao wins? Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, has come up with a fascinating plan to have his star attraction fight Antonio Margarito this year if the disgraced Mexican fighter receives a license in Texas. That would be a very lucrative matchup. The fact Margarito would be returning from his suspension in California –- for illegal hand wraps -– and a large following among Mexicans and Mexican-Americans would make him a hot commodity and the fight much more attractive than Pacquiao-Clottey. Thus, we might be looking at 2011 for the Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown. That’s assuming neither of the star participants slips up in the meantime and can get past blood-testing issues in the end.

10. What if Clottey wins? A Clottey victory would turn the boxing world upside down. Suddenly, the sport’s most-popular figure would be exposed as human after all and lose the remarkable momentum that has experts comparing him to the greatest fighters of all time. The landscape would be far less interesting, to say the least. Pacquiao would remain an attraction –- particularly if he could beat Clottey in a rematch -– but he probably would never be quite the same. Pacquiao-Mayweather or Pacquiao-Mosley would still be big but, with a diminished Pacquiao, wouldn’t smash pay-per-view records. Clottey would set himself up for some healthy paydays but will never be a true star. This is fantasy, though: Clottey isn’t going to win.


Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com

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